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The courtship dates back to April 5, 2010, the night of the most heart-rending defeat in Butler basketball history.

You know the game. Butler. Duke. Gordon Hayward shooting from midcourt, a national championship hanging in the balance. Oh so close.

Danny Ainge, president of the Boston Celtics, sat in the stands at Lucas Oil Stadium that night next to Steve Pagliuca, one of the team’s owners. Before the game, Ainge leaned over and told Pagliuca, “There’s the best coach in college basketball right down there.”

Pagliuca, a Blue Devils fan, naturally assumed Ainge was talking about Mike Krzyzewski, the college game’s all-time wins leader, owner of four national championships, architect of the modern-day Duke dynasty.

No, Ainge, told him. He was talking about Butler’s Brad Stevens.

From that point, Ainge fantasized about luring Stevens to Boston to run his storied franchise. This week, he completed the mission.

“I just watched him coach, and I loved how his teams play,” Ainge said Friday, as Stevens was officially introduced as the next coach of the Celtics. “I love his poise on the sidelines.

“He’s a guy I had targeted for a long time.”

Ten days ago, Ainge essentially traded his coach, Doc Rivers, to the Los Angeles Clippers. He had a void to fill at the top.

Stevens was his first call.

They spoke back-and-forth on the phone for the past 10 days, the conversations eventually elevating to the point where Ainge, co-owner Wyc Grousbeck and Assistant GM Mike Zarren flew to Indianapolis on Wednesday morning to seal the deal.

There, they met with Stevens and his wife, Tracy. There, Stevens decided this was an opportunity he could not turn down.

He would leave Butler, the only basketball home he’s ever known as a coach, and take on the colossal challenge of rebuilding the Boston Celtics.

“It was the right decision and it was obvious it was the right decision,” Stevens said Friday.

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Ainge got his man, signing Stevens to a six-year, $22 million contract.

“I didn’t have to do a lot of research,” Ainge said. “I did not do a background check, I did not call and check from around all the different coaches in college basketball. It was really easy to have identified him as a first choice.”

On Friday outside of Boston, Stevens spoke of the Celtics aura.

“I am absolutely humbled to be sitting in this room with banners that hang around me,” he said. “The Boston Celtics ... wow.

“That is a ....”

He paused, the reality of it all sinking in.

“That is an incredible feeling.”

He’s been their coach for three days, yet the work has begun. He began reading Celtics legend Bill Russell’s basketball manifesto, “Russell’s Rules” on the plane ride to Boston on Thursday. In signature Stevens style, he was up early Friday morning, he said, watching Celtics film, diligently taking notes and familiarizing himself with his new team. He introduced himself to Celtics guard Rajon Rondo over the phone Thursday.

The gravity of the moment struck Stevens at times Friday morning. His words slowed when discussing his exit from Butler, a place he has called home for 13 seasons.

“It was hard to leave,” he said. “Home was Indy, and home has been Indy for a better part of my life.”

Later, in an interview with Indianapolis radio show host Dan Dakich, Stevens further discussed how difficult it was leaving the school.

“I’ve probably cried three times in my life,” he said. “I cried three times that day.”

He added that each time the Butler program has been forced to fill its coaching vacancy — four times since 2000 — the team has enjoyed more and more success. Even in his departure, he doesn’t expect that to change.

“I’ll be there when they’re cutting down the nets,” he said.

On the bright side, Stevens noted Friday, he still gets to cheer for his former employer since he is going to the NBA instead of another college.

“I don’t have to throw my Butler gear away,” he said. “I will wear it with pride. I have 13 years of it. I can root for (the players) I talked to on Wednesday as hard as I possibly can, be unabashedly a fan, which I’m excited about.”